Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer)

Harrison Gray Otis (October 8, 1765-October 28, 1848), Unitarian businessman, lawyer, and politician, was after 1801 one of the most important leaders of the United States' first political party, the Federalists.

Related Topics:
Unitarian - United States - Federalists

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Otis was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Elizabeth (Gray) and Samuel Allyne Otis. His uncle was Revolutionary War leader James Otis, and his father was active in early American politics as a member of Massachusetts state house of representatives, delegate to Massachusetts state constitutional convention, and Continental Congress delegate from Massachusetts.

Related Topics:
Boston, Massachusetts - Revolutionary War - James Otis - Massachusetts - Continental Congress

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Otis himself married Sally Foster on May 3, 1780, graduated from Harvard University in 1783, then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1786, when he commenced practice in Boston. In 1794 he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, and in 1796 was appointed by President George Washington to be district attorney for Massachusetts. In 1797, he was elected U.S. Representative from Massachusetts as a Federalist and a strong advocate for centralized government, in which office he served until 1801. He was appointed United States district attorney for Massachusetts by President John Adams (1801-1802), and again served in the state legislature from 1802 to 1817, serving several terms as President of the state senate (1805-1806, 1808-1811). In subsequent years, Otis was elected U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1817-1822), and then Mayor of Boston (1829-1831).

Related Topics:
Harvard University - George Washington - U.S. Representative - John Adams - U.S. Senator

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In 1814, in the midst of his political career, he was also named a judge of the court of common pleas (1814-1818), and played a leading role as delegate to the controversial Hartford Convention in which New England's secession from the United States was discussed. It led to the demise of the Federalists. Otis subsequently defended the convention in his Letters Developing the Character and Views of the Hartford Convention (1820) and his Letters in Defence of the Hartford Convention (1824).

Related Topics:
Hartford Convention - New England - United States

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Around 1831, Otis was involved in a major financial scandal during the site selection for the Massachusetts State House. Boston was determined to remain the state capitol, and appointed Otis to a town committee to purchase land and donate it to the state. He did so, and also quietly arranged his own private purchase of 18.5 adjoining acres from the agent of John Singleton Copley, then living in England. After a decade of legal arguments, the sale was upheld, and Otis and the Mount Vernon Proprietors developed a large part of Beacon Hill.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts State House - John Singleton Copley - England - Mount Vernon Proprietors - Beacon Hill

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Otis was an overseer of Harvard University from 1810-1823, and a fellow of the university from 1823-1825, as well as one of the original incorporators of the Boston Bank. During the course of his career, he built not one but three grand houses in quick succession, all designed by noted architect Charles Bulfinch. He died in Boston on October 28, 1848, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Related Topics:
Harvard University - Boston Bank - Charles Bulfinch - Mount Auburn Cemetery - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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